I see the world through a lens, always. Even when I’m not working I look at scenes, people, moments, and I click the shutter in my head.
The best images tell a story, they have depth, emotion and they cause the viewer to feel something. For me, what I found most unsettling and most challenging about the past year were the masks.
All those masks.
I understand the necessity and I would never ask a subject to remove their mask, that must be a personal choice.
However, masks steal the face from so many of my images.
The candid laugh gone, the shock and awe gone, replaced with fabric and plastic. Luckily the eyes tell most of the story.
The happy eyes of the teacher viewing her students on a screen.
The sad yet happy graduate. The veteran thrilled to get a vaccine.
Those happy eyes have replaced the scared eyes of early 2020 when we were fearing the unknown.
These images hit a chord with me because they show the perseverance and determination of the community.
The thousands of volunteers who organized to feed, test, and then vaccinate others.
The teachers figured out a new way to teach.
The workers who couldn’t work so they reinvented themselves.
All of this gives me hope in humanity that I already thought was great and already loved capturing through my lens.